Greyhound Survival

Greyhound survival is survival of the fittest, indeed. I've attempted to gather some of my ideas on making Greyhound travel survivable and perhaps even bearable. Hopefully some of these tips will do someone a bit of good at some point, and if not, at least writing them was a good way to pass the time on the trip from Tucson to Flagstaff. Here goes...

NUMBER ONE RULE! DON’T TALK TO ANY PASSENGER if you can help it.  You might think that meeting new people is part of the adventure, but for the most part they are all really crazy and scary. Steer clear.

Get to the gate as early as you can so you can pick a seat… and that seat should always be the emergency exit seat . There are four emergency exit seats per bus, in the middle towards the front. If you were in the front of the line, you shouldn’t have trouble snagging one of these seats.

Distribute your bags across the empty seat next to you- people will be less likely to ask to sit down if they know it’ll be a hassle. You should sit on the outside seat too, until boarding is finished. CAUSE YOU WANNA SIT BY YOURSELF.

If you’re on a stopover at night, picking up passengers, and you don’t need to get up to pee or stretch, just spread the hell out and pretend you’re sleeping. You’ll be much less likely to be asked to share your seat; who wants to risk waking a stranger up out of sound sleep? If you do have to get up to pee or stretch (or, eww, to smoke) leave your coat, bags and what have you spread across both seats. People are generally reluctant to move another person’s things. Just make sure it’s stuff you’re not super attached to, in case it should disappear. 

Never ever part from your laptop, wallet, camera or phone. Everything else is expendable (clothes, toiletries, etc.) If someone were to steal a bag containing things of that nature belonging to me, my response would most likely be that they needed it more than I did. Get on with it.

Be nice to the driver and the person loading your bag. This is obvious common sense. While we’re at it, just be nice to everyone. The person behind the Greyhound counter is usually surly, but so would I be if I had to deal with as many freaks in a day. I always give them my best smile, ask how they are, maybe even pay them a compliment. Be aware though, when I say “be nice to everyone,” I certainly don’t mean to make conversation or try to initiate small talk. Just don’t get in anyone’s way, and don’t be a jerk.

If you’re taking an overnight bus, I found it’s best to take a sleeping pill. If I don’t do that, I have very fitful, unrestful sleep and it’s not worth much.  If you take a sleeping pill, be prepared to be woken up about every 3 to 4 hours, as the bus lines seem to relish making everyone wake up and take a little walk when they pull into a station at about 3:45 in the morning. This is a huge annoyance, although sometimes they don’t force you off the bus but rather allow you to stay on and in your seat once they’ve busted your eardrums announcing the arrival, and flicked on the glaring overhead lights that will remain on for the duration of the layover, even if it’s 15 minutes.

Be aware that some Greyhound busses will have WiFi and electrical outlets, but DON'T expect them all to. If you’re on a long haul and you’re lucky enough to have a charging station, keep your stuff plugged in because on your next transfer you may not be so lucky. In my experience, I have the well equipped busses on short rides and the really skanky ones when I have a long, long ride ahead. Frustrating, I know.

AT THE STATION:

If you’re changing buses and you need to get your luggage ticketed for your next destination (and you will) get in line at the Greyhound counter ASAP.  That way you can get tagged, find out the gate you need and get in line right away for the next leg of your trip.

Once you’ve got your place in line, don’t be too afraid to leave your bag (the one that only carries clothes and toiletries) to hold your place, and hit the bathroom or the snack bar. Make sure you’ve got a bag holding your place though! Otherwise you’ll be at the end of the line once you’ve peed and grabbed a French fry.

HEALTH AND GROOMING:

Your toothbrush should be handy- you can brush your teeth in the sink at any station. Personally, I’m humbled enough not to care too much that it’s bus station tap water- if you’re squeamish about these things, Greyhound is not the way you are gonna want to cross the country.

Make sure you bring along a bottle of multivitamins. It’s really hard to eat as healthfully as you might like when you’re on the road. I also recommend a package or two of Emergen-C (or better yet, the generic brand- mine are CVS brand that I bought in Boston.) I try to take 2 a day in addition to the multivit- buses are an enclosed air system and you want your immune system to be aces for the duration of your trip.

 Make sure you do lots and lots of stretching. Stretch at EVERY opportunity. My favorites are mini back bends, toe touches and mini lunges. Also don’t forget to stretch your arms. You can do seated stretches too, which are good to keep up on if you’re sitting by yourself and have the opportunity.

MOST USEFUL ITEMS:

I’ve found the most useful items for bus travel so far to be:

Snuggie ™: I’ve become a big fan of the thing, although I was initially skeptical.  It wa a gift from my stepdad specifically for the trip. Mine is leopard print, which is rad.

Neck pillow: essential for overnights or naps- press it up against the window, curl up across two seats and enjoy a few hours rest.  Personally, I have a doggy pillow-pal. My stepdad got this for me too. He rules.

Emergen-C: as previously stated.

Brita water filter bottle: this allows me to collect water from nearly any tap and have it filtered for each sip. These things are truly bomb. I’m pretty sure there’s another brand that makes them as well. One of these might as well be mandatory. Keep up your water intake, too, even though it makes you have to pee more frequently.

Noise cancelling ear-buds: sometimes I keep them in even when I’m not playing music. Of course, you could always just get ear-plugs, which I also have but never feel like fishing out. I think the buds are probably more effective anyway.

Granola bars: grab a box anytime you can hit up a grocery store, but try to avoid buying them at gas stations and such, as they’re far to expensive that way.

Hopefully you've gained some insight into cross-country bus travel! Be safe, and DON'T TALK TO STRANGERS.

Houston/Spring

After Austin I backtracked through Texas and visited my aunt and cousins in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston. It was awesome to see my cousins for the first time in 8 years or so, they're so grown up and just fantastic kids.

My aunt and I have a great mutual love for thrifting, so we spent a whole bunch of time hitting Salvay's and random thrift stores in Spring. I ended up with some pretty great swag, including a Texas tee shirt, some southwesty-type jewelry and a dope leather purse.

Cupcakes were definitely in order, so my cousins Alex and Adam and I went to the cupcake place and ordered some, and when I tried to take some photos (as is my standard M.O. when it comes to cupcake places) the guy behind the counter admonished me not to photograph them... leading to the joke of the visit "please don't photograph the cupcakes."

My cousins also have a ton of awesome animals, including 3 awesome Chihuahua pups, a rat and loads of fishies. My aunt is super proud (and rightly so!) of her garden, pond and hydroponic green house, and it was great to see how crafty and creative she is.



I used Aunt Sue's fisheye to take these slow-shutter shots of the backyard, the greenhouse, and a sleepy Alex and 2 of 3 puppies.



On my last night in Spring my aunt busted out a box full of family photos and we had a pow-wow about the Mahoney family history. It was a nice way to end the stay with my family.



The next morning I had to part (sadly) with my family and my snuggle bug Banjo when my aunt drove me to Houston, where I got the chance to explore some art gallery's in the area around St. Thomas University, including Mark Rothko's chapel. The Rothko Chapel is a non-denominational space for meditation, silence and prayer, a pentagonal building with massive Rothko paintings on each wall and benches to sit in front of the works. Rothko's paintings are a celebration of the vibrancy of color, and these immense seemingly black canvases beg the viewer to get close and really soak in the subtle shifts in deep, deep indigo and violets that actually comprise the pigments.

Outside of the awe-inspiring Rothko Chapel is a beautiful reflecting pool with a hard edged geometric bronze sculpture that dominates the tree-lined space.

After the Rothko I stumbled upon the Byzantine Fresco Chapel, where I learned of the existence of the Cy Twombly gallery, the Dan Flavin Gallery and the Menil Collection. Heaven. It was in the Cy Twombly gallery that I met Jill, a super cool freelance photographer who asked me to stand in front of some of the artworks to give them scale for a flight-magazine shoot she was doing. We ended up chatting for a bit and visiting the Dan Flavin gallery together, where she shot a couple more photos with me in the Flavin's signature florescent lights.



I decided to put the kaibosh on plans to check out the Zoo with the family I used to nanny for, who had since moved to Houston and whom I wanted to visit with. Instead, the family came to me and we explored the area around the museums, climbed trees, visited the Menil Collection, and "baby" Paul even admonished a group of 20-somethings about smoking... which was hilarious if slightly awkward. It was a great treat to meet the newest member of the family, as well, who is a perfect combination of her older brother and sister.

It was hard parting with the family again, especially with Paul telling me I should stay and be his nanny again. I miss him like crazy! I can't believe how big he is, and so smart! Just like his big sister (and mom and dad!) But alas, it was time to move on to Tucson.

Austin

After serious blog neglect, I am finally able to post an update from the Austin visit!

I am so truly, truly blessed to have such amazing friends... Val picked me up from the bus station and brought me to her lux apartment complex and made me feel right at home, and Jim joined us right away that night for amazing Tex-Mex dinner at Chuy's. On my birthday, Cupcake King Jim treated me to an awesome treat from Sugar Mama's, where the two of them took me again later in the week.

Sugar Mama's magic, courtesy of Jim- 3 of 4 were vegan! All were delicious.

Reppin' hard at Sugar Mama's.

Mr. Cupcake himself, in his natural habitat. 

Austin was indeed a food paradise- among the fares sampled; Tex Mex, vegan, Brazilian and Korean... and of course, cupcakes. Trailer park food courts are huge in Austin, and the food found in them is varied and DELICIOUS. 

Moustache Rides!

On my second night in town, Val brought me to a truly slammin' art party in east Austin at a studio called Industry. Apparently there is a BYOB party there once a month where a featured artist's original one-of-a-kind designs can be screen printed onto a piece of your own personal clothing for a measly $10.

January's featured artist was Michael Sieben, who you might have known was involved in a controversy with Target when the mega-retailer appropriated his designs and used them for the Sean White line without giving credit where credit was due.

I snagged this sick print for my tired old heather grey v-neck...

in addition to snagging Sieben's artist book, entitled "There's Nothing Wrong with You... Hopefully." which is a collection of Sieben's drawings, doodles, finished works, prints and sculptural installation work.

This neon sign was blazing in the open woodworking studio next door to Industry. The company is, unsurprisingly, called Rad. Val and I danced down their loading dock and that display too, was rad. 

The real and actual Soul Pole and Fah Q paddle, proudly displayed inside Top Notch

Jim and I outside Top Notch! Just waiting for Cindy and Wooderson to drive up and order a burger.

Jim engineered a Dazed and Confused sight seeing trip for us, too, which was a definite trip highlight for me. Dazed and Confused is certainly in my Top 5 Favorite Movies of All Time, so actually setting foot on these filming sites was epic for me. I certainly could not wipe the cheesy grin off my face.

The baseball field from Dazed and Confused.

We had to do this shot 3 ways. Me and Val,

Jim and I,

then Val and Jim. Here, Jim is probably checking in on FourSquare, which I have become obsessed with since Austin.

This is the view of the city from Jim's rooftop, where I learned that stars indeed do twinkle. (How did I not know that? Undoubtedly a failing of the public education system.)

Val took me dancing on Saturday night at Barbarella, to what was undoubtedly one of the best dance nights I've been to, ever. Hands down. It definitely rivaled Friday on My Mind in Leipzig or Kill All Hipsters in Berlin. The crowd was totally down, drinks were dirt cheap, and the music was undeniably awesome. Of course Val and I made our way to the little stage in the front, and by the end of the night (after about a 4 minute power outage that struck the entire downtown, during which the crowd called out soccer chants and sang happy birthday) I found myself on top of the speaker box, dancing and singing Arcade Fire's "Ready To Start" at the top of my lungs.

All in all, I was totally impressed with Austin. I absolutely loved it. The nightlife was awesome, the food was awesome, and some incredible friends call it home. I think this was the point in the trip where it really hit me that at this juncture I am untethered and free to go ANYWHERE to (re?)start my life... even though Brooklyn continues to look like my official choice, I got the sense while I was in Austin that I was truly able to choose a whole new life  in a far away place if I so desired. If Austin's public transit system was a little more accessible, I know it would be a real consideration. It still could be... I'm totally in love with the idea of living in a place with such a legendary music scene, and without the hassle of snow and cold.

In terms of hitting my TRIP GOALS in Austin, I did a pretty decent job, thanks to my super accommodating and helpful hosts... 

 

1. √ We found a photo booth on my last night in town at a little spot called Bar 96.

2. √ Local beer- Fireman's something?

3. √ Coffee shop- well, I'm kind of fudging this one, but we did get brunch at a wicked spot called Bouldin Creek where I drank a lot of coffee, a mimosa garnished with blueberries, and scarfed eggs benedict with vegan Hollandaise sauce.

4. _Didn't do any thrifting. =(

5. √ Kept in touch with mom.

6. √ Made 2 new friends, Mellie and Greg!

7. √ Took loads of photos.

Val and I and our identical haircuts.

Austin definitely stole my heart. I hope to be back next year for South by Southwest Music Festival! Not sure if it will be in the capacity of resident or visitor, though. Time will tell. Please do stay tuned to the blog for Houston Stories, Greyhound Survival Tips, Tucson AZ, the Grand Canyon and California! 

Boston

From Boston to New Hampshire and back again in a day. I rolled in to Beantown on the silver bullet early evening Monday, got a quick peek at the cityscape and proceeded to navigate the underground from South Station to North, where I bought a ticket to meet Kerry, who was tending her uncle’s place in NH. North Station is also home to the Garden, where a Celtics game was in progress. I was privy to a group of drunk kids in green and yellow being scolded by the police and the drunkest among them passed out and carted off on a stretcher. A fitting welcome to Boston, I guess.

My train to Fitchburg arrived soon after that fiasco and after an hour’s ride I got to see Kerry’s shining face at the station. After enthusiastic greetings we hopped in the car and drove into New Hampshire. Driving up to it was like driving through Narnia; the driveway was snow-covered, winding and lined with gas lamps. The house was awesome, with a bevy of cozy guest rooms for the choosing and a fireplace. Kerry had cooked spaghetti with sun dried tomatoes for dinner. We sat in front of the fire, unwound, listened to the quiet and caught each other up with our respective lives.

The next morning Kerry and I had a leisurely breakfast and sauna. (The house had previously been owned by Swedes, and you know how they love their saunas)  It was such a relaxed way to ease into this trip, I couldn’t have asked for better! After giving the house a quick tidy we packed our stuff and Kerry’s pup Gabi into Kerry’s Subaru and motored on to Jamaica Plain, which is akin to a borough like Greenpoint in Brooklyn, but further away from downtown and with it’s own unique vibe. That night we decided to stay in and hang out on the couch, watching a couple of episodes of Boardwalk Empire on her roommate Ethan’s projector screen after checking out Ula’s, a cute café near the Sam Adams brewery. Kerry scooped up some macarons and cupcakes for dessert for all the housemates, who’d made a yummy soup and fried yucca for dinner.

Wednesday was a nice leisurely morning of Mickey-shaped chocolate and beer waffles, followed by a visit to the Sam Adams brewery all on my lonesome. Sam Adams has a tiny brewery right in Jamaica Plain, a 20 minute walk through the neighborhood from Kerry’s place. The tour was nothing too special, being such a small brewery with only about 4 tanks for brewing and everything in one small warehouse. The tasting part was fun, albeit slightly awkward for being alone. The tour guide and bartender were pretty cool to me though so I didn’t feel quite so odd being the only solo taster.

Later I met Kristin, a dear old friend whom I’ve known since elementary school. She brought me to the theater district and treated me to a very lovely meal of gourmet French cuisine. Unfortunately not everyone in the restaurant was being conscious of the high class atmosphere, by which I mean the couple that were sat next to us… the woman, maybe in her late 60’s, was very sick throughout her meal and kept laying her head smack on the table, burping and possibly vomming into her napkin. Her husband seemed pretty cavalier about the whole incident, although it occurred to Kristin and I that the woman needed some medical attention. The couple stayed on, despite frequent interventions from the staff. I clearly remember the woman even once asking about dessert. Weird.

Before meeting up with Kristin, I got a chance to walk around Copley Square and check out the Boston Public library. Impressive. 

I found myself wandering over to Newbury Street, which is a shopping concourse consisting of some very high end stuff. Of course this was a window-shopping mission for my broke self, although I came pretty close to a purchase when I tried on a pair of opalescent pearly gold Doc Marten 12 holes. In the end I couldn’t justify throwing my current boots in the trash or casting them off to the thrift store yet. But earlier in the week I did get a chance to shop in some JP thrift stores, which were spectacular! I picked up 2 awesome sweaters for just $9! Can’t go wrong there.

I got to do a little historical sightseeing on my own as well, following the ‘Freedom Trail” past Paul Revere’s house, the church where he hung the lantern to signify that “The British are coming!” and all that jazz. Along that path I stumbled into a crazy old cemetery (which Boston is chock full of) and photographed some of the headstones in the golden-hour light.

My last very “touristy” venture in Boston was another beer tasting, this time at Harpoon Brewery. Again I was on my own, as Kerry was working and Kristin and her sister had to pick a friend up at the airport. I felt like an absolute nerd but I wasn’t going to miss out on the free beer just cause I didn’t have a bud to go with. However, looking back, it would have been MUCH more fun with one.

I bought a growler of Harpoon Chocolate Stout (chocolaty-er but less creamy than the Brooklyn Brewery version) and headed back to Kerry’s. We had another night of snuggling and Boardwalk Empire viewing, snuggled on the couch with blankets and My-My (the kitty) and Gabi (the pup.)

The next morning we ate Dim Sum for brunch in Chinatown. The weather had since become quite inclement, and the trek to the ICA (Boston’s contemporary art center) after a brunch of dim sum on Saturday was made unpleasant by the discovery of my boot’s lack of waterproofing. Travel tip: always be sure your footwear is waterproof when you travel on the east coast in the winter (no brainer there.)

The museum itself was pretty cool, although scaled down to only half it’s usual offering due to an installation in progress that isn’t opening until February. There was a video art piece detailing the violent and hateful reaction of the first Gay Pride March in Serbia, juxtaposed by a video of interpretive dance. The documentary footage of hate-filled speech and violent, bloody mayhem turned my stomach to the point where my mind was made up that humans were the most horrifying creatures, but I think the thing that stuck most with me about that was leaving the small room where the video was screening and coming into a room where the delicacy, introspection and thoughtfulness of human beings was palpably evident in the sculptural works and cerebral undertakings. I felt slightly less sickened to be a member of the same species as those creatures on the previous screen.

 After the museum Kerry and I walked over to a bar called “Drink,” an underground (no, literally) establishment that boasted a clean, minimalist bar setup, industrial surroundings and cute, tattooed and vest-clad bartenders who were definitely skilled in their craft. Kerry and I both indulged in a lovely warm drink called a Tom and Jerry, which is hot water, milk, rum and brandy with lots of wintery spices and a creamy sugary meringue topping.

 The bartenders were very attentive and honestly curious as to how we found their creations. I would definitely recommend that spot to a Boston visitor (although I have to admit to a slight sticker shock when the bill came.)

Next I met up with Kristin and her posse again in Back Bay, where we hopped a cab to Faniuel Hall and had a few beers and Chinese food at a crazy packed Karaoke bar called Hong-Kong. After witnessing some of the worst (best) Karaoke I’ve ever seen happen before midnight, I headed back to JP to meet up with Kerry for a dance party in Somerville. Of course, being us, we jumped up on stage when the emcee announced a dance contest… unfortunately, we weren’t the favorites of the target demographic and were all but booed off the stage. Still, we made the best of it (as we always do) and danced for another hour- sadly enough I went a little too crazy without stretching first and woke up Sunday morning with a very painful right knee joint. I felt better though when Kerry came into the room I was sleeping in and told me to hold out my hand, into which she dropped a beautiful crystal and gold necklace as a birthday gift!

Kerry and I chowed down in a really cool vegetarian/vegan friendly café called “the OtherSide” right near Fenway Park on Sunday afternoon and then she helped me cart all my junk to the bus station and I boarded the Boston-New York express bus with the intention of meeting my friend Jay for a beverage and getting back on the bus at 10:45 to Austin. 

Well, it’s noon on Monday and I’m still in Brooklyn, so you can see how well those plans worked out! It seems Jay’s still pretty good at getting me to agree with whatever he says, so I went along with the plan of spending an extra day in New York (yeah, he really had to twist my arm for that one.) and we hung out last night in some Brooklyn bars I hadn’t yet been to.

As for Boston, I checked off 5 out of 7 of my “to-do’s”

√ take a million photos

√ sit in café’s and drink black coffee (City Feed, OtherSide)

√ visit art galleries and museums (ICA)

√ call my mom often

√ drink local beers (Sam and Harpoon, that was easy)

_ make 1 new friend (made some acquaintances)

_ photo booth strips (couldn’t find one) 

Roadtrippin'.

First, by way of introduction: I’m Kirsten. And I’ve decided to take a trip.

This isn’t my first trip- I’m lucky enough to be able to say I’ve been to Europe twice and made my way through a good many countries there.

However, after surveying my travel history, I realized that despite the many European capitals I’ve seen and thoroughly enjoyed, I hadn’t yet made time to explore my own country. So that’s what I decided to seek to do, after I graduated from college (at long last) this December.

A trip, by my definition, is not a vacation. I’m not necessarily working, but I’m not kicking back at the hotel pool with a mai-tai either. My travels through Europe, although unbelievably entertaining and incredibly enlightening, were also pretty exhausting and, in truth, composed of a little bit of luck, some mild discomfort, and a whole lot of effort. I see this trip across the US as occupying a similar vein, although admittedly made easier by lack of both language barrier and exorbitant currency exchange rates.

These “trips” are a means by which I challenge myself- test my mettle, as it were. I tend to put myself in situations that are strenuous, difficult, and maybe even scary (although seldom do I feel afraid.) Prior to my departure, my friends would ask if I was frightened, nervous, or anxious. I immediately attempted to assuage their concerns, assuring them I could handle whatever craziness got thrown in my path. To tell the truth, I hadn’t even allowed myself to feel those fearful emotions. If I had, it was only subconsciously. I had decided that since I’d hoofed/trained/bussed/flown (without health coverage or a particularly large budget) through countries where I was unable to speak or read a word of the language, I could certainly handle the good ol’ US of A, country of my birth. If I’d started thinking about everything that could go wrong, I’d probably be hiding under my bed in Niagara Falls right now instead of curled up on a yellow zebra-striped kidney-shaped couch in Jamaica Plain Massachusetts.

I’d decided sometime in the beginning of my last semester as a Bachelors candidate in the Art Education Program at Buffalo State College that I wanted to make a cross country trip. The idea gestated as a sort of gift to myself for graduating from college; something I'm sure I don't deserve. I decided on a US venture rather than, say, returning to Germany or England for a quick stay in the company of friends, for a couple of reasons; one being cost and ease, two being that I'm in some ways preparing myself for a "settling down" to come in the future. I'm open to the possibility that one of my destination cities will become my home, even though I'm currently set on Brooklyn for that. I’m still not sure if I’ve made exactly the right choice in taking a cross country trip as opposed to a "last hurrah" (but not really) jaunt to Europe, but as some people who know me are aware, once I decide on some hare-brained idea, I become laser focused on it and there’s no going back.

So on January 10^th I took the plunge and put my plastic where my mouth was- I bought a two month Discovery Pass from the Greyhound Lines Incorporated (headquarters in Dallas Texas.) For those that don’t know, the Greyhound Discovery Pass is a deal proffered by Greyhound Lines Incorporated that allows the buyer to travel as many times, as far a distance as they like, for the tidy sum of $446 USD (for one month,) or $556 USD (for two months.) Considering a round trip ticket to New York City from Buffalo can cost upwards of $100, not to mention the three-hundred-some-odd-dollar amount a bus ticket to the West Coast would cost, I deemed the deal “not bad.” Especially in comparison to the Amtrak version of the Discovery Pass (over $800 with the same travel times) or the cost of flying about the country (astronomical, I presume.)

Now, the next question that most people weren’t keen on actually asking me but were obviously thinking or talking about amongst themselves was that of my finances. “How is she affording this extravagant bus venture around the circumference of these United States?” they all seemed to want to know (I guess.) Well, for starters, the Greyhound pass is, as aforementioned, $556 for TWO WHOLE MONTHS. That is less than the cost of a month’s rent for most people. Also, like a whole lot of American twentysomething women, and a whole lot of American’s in general, I own and use credit cards. I know this isn’t the wisest financial practice. Hell, I even had to use a debt relief program in my early twenties. (Don’t judge.) But I’ve wised up somewhat along the way, about how many cards I have open (precious few) their interest rates (fairly low) and how I pay them off (quickly.) Not to mention that I’ve already swung this travel-on-credit-and-pay-it-off-immediately gig before… twice. And I even have a little (very, very little) cash to my name to boot. Top it off with gracious and lovely friends willing to host me in their respective cities (and Couchsurfing.org to fall back on,) and the whole thing becomes quite affordable.

In spite of the possible longer term financial implications, I've decided to grant myself this voyage across the US of A, with destination cities of Boston MA, Austin TX, San Francisco CA, Portland OR, Seattle WA, Chicago IL and the big ol' Apple. I think it's worthwhile for me, as well as relatively cheap. I'm in a position to do it, as I've just graduated and don't have a job, and my graduate program (should I be accepted) won't start until September anyway. That gives me plenty of time when I return home to save up money for a real move.

So there you have it. The genesis of the idea and subsequent fruition of my fantastic voyage across the US of A. Hang out with me here, I’ll have lots to talk about and plenty to show you along the way.